Tuesday, May 29, 2012

I’m calling this chicken and “dumplings” for search engine
purposes, but these came out so well that internally we going with chicken and
“dumplins.” That’s right, if your dumplings really rock, you’re allowed to drop
the “g.” It’s the highest honor one can bestow on this humble dish.

The wonderful thing about this dumpling recipe, besides its
ease, is how truly versatile it is. I’m not even referring to the actual
dumpling batter, which of course can be tweaked with various herb and/or dairy
substitutions, but to the delivery system beneath these puffy pillows of pleasure.

These dumplings can be steamed over virtually any flavorful
soup or stew-like substance. The rule of thumb is; if you can simmer it, you
can cook a dumpling on it. However, as I mention in the video, the thinner the
liquid, the easier and better the dumplings will steam.

If you do prefer a thicker stew, simply fortify your mixture
with a standard roux before you add the picked chicken back in. We’ve made like
a hundred rouxs, so I’ll assume you can cook 1/4 cup of butter together with a
1/4 cup of flour for a couple minutes without major incident.

If this is your first batch of dumplings ever, then I'd recommend going with the soupy base you see here. Once you get the dumplin(g)s down, you can start to experiment with thicker, more interesting stews.

So, whether you go thick or thin, crème friache or
buttermilk, thyme or rosemary, or any another other approved variation (FYI:
all variations are pre-approved), I hope you give this classic American comfort
food a try. Enjoy!

Thomas Keller has a chicken and dumplings recipe that is absurdly complicated. For example, one step requires the cook to construct a parchment paper pot lid for sweating the mire poix.

However, he makes the dumplings with a choux batter seasoned with Dijon mustard and chives, shaped into quenelles, then parboiled before incorporating into the soup/stew. They are remarkable: not quite biscuit consistency, nor starch-laden gut bombs.

I like your chicken fat roux. It really does add a nice, silky body to the soup.

Chef John, you don't have to post this, but i just thought i'd remind you that we're still waiting for those braised lentils you promised us a while back (on the grilled tarragon yogurt chicken). Lookin forward

Thank you for the perfect dumplings - my dumplings have varied between light, and almost hockey pucks! Rolled and sliced dough are noodles AFAIK! And lastly, thank you for having color in your soup-stew - there's nothing less appetizing than single-colored chicken and dumplings, ewww!

mmmm I'm making this right now. My husband will be home in about 1/2 hour and I can't wait! I was going to post earlier and ask about using a rotisserie chicken and bouillon cubes (I didn't want to, but budget is tight and I wanted to make it TONIGHT). Anyway, I made it with the above mentioned, and the soup tastes great! I tasted the dough to the dumplings, and I"m sure they are going to be splendid! You may think I can't tell that way, but I've tasted many doughs in my day. Also, I have never made any kind of dumpling soup before. I used some different seasonings, just because I didn't have them on hand so I had to substitute. For example, sage for bay, and Franks Red hot for cayenne pepper. Also added a little garlic and no celery. Sorry I am rambling. It is just so exciting!

Mr. Chef John, I lost my job a couple months ago and now I am a stay at home engineer husband working on building the 'next big thing'. My wife supports us by working. When she comes home, I've greeted her with these dumplings, and in the past, ribs, split pea soup, jambalaya, etc. All from you. Thanks to you our relationship (and budget) is doing well in this uncertain time. For that I am grateful to you. Thank you for making me 'the total package'.

Thank you, thank you! My mother and I have been looking for not just a good dumpling recipe/method, no luck -- they all failed in her opinion. This recipe, however, was magic. These were absolute perfection. P. S. - She's 80 and a picky eater so this saves me a ton of problems getting her to eat something other than chocolate.

I tried this out and really enjoyed the dumplings. Unfortunately, I really wanted the broth to be thicker. To that end, I considered thickening it with a blonde roux. I'm hesitating because you mentioned this might effect the way the dumplings steam. Could you expand on this concern? My thought is that it might take longer for the dumplings to steam properly and that, in that time, the broth could burn at the bottom. Am I right or ought I just do it your way? ;-)

Hi, great dumplings! I did mine in too shallow a pot and the dumplings started to squash up against the lid, so I took the lid off and put the pot under the griller (broiler for my American friends), just until done, not brown, and they were still great, light and fluffy. Trying them again over a beef carbonnade (deep pot this time!)

Hi, great dumplings! I did mine in too shallow a pot and the dumplings started to squash up against the lid, so I took the lid off and put the pot under the griller (broiler for my American friends), just until done, not brown, and they were still great, light and fluffy. Trying them again over a beef carbonnade (deep pot this time!)

Hey Chef John! I am a new follwer to your videos and I have to say .. I have not been disapointed with any of the recipes I have tried so far. I'm attemping this one now and I have my fingers crossed it'll turn out the way it's suppose to.

My concern:I don't have a large enough dutch oven to hold all the liquid. So what I'm planning on doing is adding the extra amount of water after taking out the chicken (to shred). Do you think that will be ok, or will it somehow change the outcome of the dish?

So yummy and easy! I'm living in South Korea, so it can be hard to find very specific ingredients, but this recipe was super simple. I would say it was just like Mom used to make, but it was much better!!!

I made this last night. As the weather was rainy/crappy all day, and the wife had a hard day at work, I thought it the perfect day to try some comfort food. It came out amazing! I had to vary the dumplings slightly as I didn't have any SR flour, but they still came out great.

Thank you Chef John! I'm learning so much from you. Not just the recipes, but also tips and techniques.

Hello I'm new to this and am trying this for the first time...my boyfriend is a chef so it's a little intimidating to cook for him but I love to cook...I looked up so many recipes and yours seemed the simplest and the best so far cooking chicken...One question what is creme fresh? Lol hope I spelled it right haha...Thank you again looking forward to trying more of your recipes...

I try a new recipe every Sunday for my families dinner. This week I made your White Bean Chicken Chili with the breast meat, they all loved it. This is the next recipe I am trying, my son loves chicken and dumplings and I've been searching high and low for an easy yet delicious recipe. I think this one will do!

Just made this. I was thinking the dumplings would be amazing and the soup would be kind of meh. Totally the opposite! The soup was out of this world! I guess it's because I'm from the South but I found the dumplings to be a little off. Down here, we make dumplings that look really slimy and gross -I know I'm selling this dish really well- but they taste amazing and have a nice, dense texture. It was fun to try these though!

So fluffy and delicious, since I've made this chicken dumpling soup my boyfriend doesn't even like chicken noodle soup anymore :) So delicious and comforting and soothing when you're ill (or if it's cold outside).

I made this on Sunday and my broth did not come out very chicken-y. What do you suggest? In my pinch, I threw in two chicken boullion cubes and it still was not very chicken-y. Was my chicken too lean? (I used a whole chicken, about 4 lbs as you stated).

Made this last night on a broth of cream of chicken soup with some bone-in chicken thighs and carrots slow-cooked in it. Cut the dumpling ingredients in half (like all your recipes, this is way too much food for me and my husband) and still ended up with twice as many dumplings as we could reasonably eat. They were very delicious though, so next time I think I'll just double the chicken and soup parts and have leftovers.

Hello Chef John! I absolutely love your youtube and website. I halved this recipe, carefully, using chicken thighs, and OMG it is wonderful. The stew is fresh and simple, and these dumplings! So good! Thank you!